Apple accelerates Siri roadmap to rival AI agents

Apple is moving to enhance Siri with advanced capabilities that allow it to manage third-party applications and execute complex, multi-step tasks. According to reporting from Bloomberg, Chief Executive John Ternus has urged AI head Craig Federighi to fast-track the assistant’s development. This strategic push aims to ensure the voice assistant can compete effectively with emerging rivals, including OpenAI’s Dots and Meta’s Muse, while addressing internal concerns about keeping pace with market leaders.

Two major updates are anticipated in the coming months. The first will provide Siri with granular control over Apple’s own software, enabling functions such as rotating and cropping images in Photos or organising Safari tabs. These improvements are expected to arrive with iOS 27.3. A more substantial change, involving integration with external services, is likely to follow in the spring. This would permit the assistant to perform actions like placing food orders through Grubhub or booking restaurant reservations via OpenTable.

Beyond these immediate additions, Apple intends to evolve Siri into a more autonomous agent. The goal is to enable the system to track long-term goals and determine subsequent steps without requiring user initiation for every individual action. Industry sources suggest this shift could occur as early as next year. The company faces significant pressure to adopt this approach, driven by current consumer expectations and the rapid advancement of competing artificial intelligence products in the market.